Flame of the Phoenix
by 501stHeavy
Summary: A teenager of unknown origins is transformed by the Empire into an Inquisitor and sent out to hunt Ahsoka Tano. After a long and nearly fatal duel with him, Ahsoka somehow reverses the ritual that turned him into a servant of the Dark Side. Now she faces a boy who has no memory and is in desperate need of a teacher. But can she trust someone who has Rebel blood on their hands?
1. The Boy

**AN: Hello There! This is my first fanfiction, so I have some hopes and fears as far as how this is going to go. I'll try to keep updating this as much as I can, especially if this story gets some support. Please review this and feel free to send me suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my ideas and my characters. Any and all characters, locations, and objects that are from Star Wars movies, shows, and books belong to their rightful owners. This fanfiction was written purely for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of anyone who chooses to read it. **

Secret Interrogation Facility

Coruscant

He woke up in the cell with no memory as to how he got there, or even who he was. His vision went in and out of focus, his head felt fuzzy and light. His mouth was dry, and as feeling began to return to his body, he felt the pain of a broken leg and two broken ribs and a dozen other injuries. The agony brought him to sudden and full awareness. He was secured to some kind of table by several tight, metal restraints. The cell was dark, with the only light coming from the floor in the form of a dim, ambient light of crimson. The cell was completely silent, except for a low hum that came from a floating spherical object that was half hidden in the shadows of the cell. He tried to speak, to shout for help, but his mind was too fuzzy and he had limited control of his body. Several bright white lights on the ceiling suddenly blazed to life, blinding him and preventing any further observation of his surroundings. He heard the door of his cell swish open, and the sound of boots meeting metal as two people entered his cell. The two came to stand on opposite sides of his table. All he could make out was faint shadows. One was tall and broad-shouldered, the other was slim and lithe.

"Look who is finally awake, brother.", the smaller shadow said. The voice was female, and dripping with malice and contempt.

"I can see that, sister.", a deep, menacing, male voice replied. "But you have yet to explain how this will not be a waste of time."

"Judging by the amount of pain the boy has been through during our previous sessions, he must truly know nothing."

"Then why will he not turn?"

The female sighed, "Some beings have a set of so-called "ideals", this boy is one of those beings.". The female turned her head to look at him. "Luckily for him, his powers are too great to just kill him, we need that kind of strength on our side."

"So what happens now?", the male asked.

"Our master has a solution, one that he will soon be here to put into effect."

Suddenly the room seemed to grow cold and dark. In some deep part of his mind, he knew that whoever or whatever was approaching was more menacing and dangerous than the two figures could ever be. The feeling continued to grow for several seconds. Then the door to his cell opened and through the lights blinding him he could see a stooped figure in dark robes enter the room. The newcomer approached him, coming close enough that he could feel the pure darkness emanating from the figure in powerful waves. The figure raised a pair of crooked hands above him, and his vision instantly began to fade to darkness. The figure spoke with the voice of an old man, but still terrified him to his core.

"Sleep child,", the figure said, "You will be of use to us yet."

Then darkness took him and he knew no more.

Earlier that Week

The Imperial Palace

Coruscant

The Seventh Sister made her way towards the turbolift, passing the stoic, ever-silent royal guards as she went. To many who walked to this particular turbolift, they were passive, ghost-like figures, whose only purpose was a show of strength and a reminder of just who the person walking was about to speak with. She knew, however, that these men and women were constantly calculating the best and quickest way to kill her with every step she took down the corridor. It was why they were considered to be the best in the entire Imperial military. She felt a surge of contempt at that thought. In her eyes, no regular being could ever compare to the might of someone who had been fully trained in the ways of the Dark Side. She reached the turbolift, entered, and punched in the code for the floor of the Emperor's throne room.

It had taken weeks to get to this point. An audience with the Emperor was no easy thing to acquire, even for an Inquisitor such as herself. She had to call in several favors from some of her contacts in the Imperial Security Bureau. She had even had to bribe a few officials. She knew, though, that the situation called for it. And soon, she hoped, the Emperor would know this as well. The turbolift came to a halt, and she exited. She stood in a large, dimly lit chamber. This room lacked the decor and the design of the rest of the palace. The pathway up to the throne was lined with six royal guards, three on each side. At the opposite end of the chamber, silhouetted by the light from a large, circular viewport, was the Emperor's throne. The seat was currently faced away from her, but she had no doubts that it was occupied. Striding forward, the Seventh Sister stopped just short of the stairs that led to the throne's level. Lowering herself to one knee and bowing her head, she waited for the Emperor to acknowledge her. The chair rotated to face her, and after a moment the Emperor spoke.

"Rise Seventh Sister, and tell me what matter is so pressing that you require a personal audience with me." It had not been directly spoken, but the Emperor's message was clear. This had better not be a waste of time.

"I come bearing news and seeking aid, My Lord." she said. "You are no doubt aware of our most recent "acquisition", the boy found on the edge of Wild Space."

"Yes, the reports say that he is only 15 years in age,", the Emperor said. "I still am unconvinced that is important."

"After many interrogation sessions, it was realized that boy simply did not know anything of his past."

"But you did not dispose of him, why?", the Emperor asked, seeming to gain some interest.

"He is strong in the Force, strong enough that I couldn't just kill him without trying to-"

"Convince him to join us.", the Emperor interrupted, finishing her sentence. "Yes, a new, more powerful inquisitor is much needed, especially with all the problems Kanan Jarrus and his accomplices have been causing. But judging by your presence here, you have been unsuccessful in allying him with us."

"That is correct, My Lord."

"There is an ancient Sith ritual that may be of use. It suppresses the victim's will and memory and replaces it with a much darker version of the original victim.", the Emperor explained.

"Would such a thing work on the boy?", the Seventh Sister asked.

"Undoubtedly", the Emperor replied. "However, the ritual is costly to whoever performs it, and I am the only one with the knowledge and power to do so. I will turn the boy, but not without a few conditions."

"Anything that you require shall be fulfilled, My Lord."

"Once the boy is turned, you will personally oversee his training."

The Seventh Sister disliked the idea of having to spend months out of the field, but she was not foolish enough to argue with the most powerful Dark Side user in the galaxy.

"Furthermore," the Emperor continued, "as soon as the boy is trained, he shall begin hunting Ahsoka Tano, alone."

This caused a spike of rage within the Seventh Sister. To have to train the boy was a burden enough, but to also give up her hunt to the boy was an insult!

"My Lord, I must protest!", she began.

"Oh, must you!?",the Emperor snarled. A sudden blast of pure Dark Side energy launched the Seventh Sister more than halfway back towards the turbolift. She hit the ground hard, all the air leaving her lungs. She had barely gotten her breath back when she felt the invisible hand of the force drag her back towards the throne. The Emperor had not moved an inch. Using the Force, he brought her directly in front of the throne. Holding her there, he spoke again.

"It amazes me that you have the audacity to debate me on this matter, when your performance in that particular hunt has been unsatisfactory at best.", the Emperor said sourly. Without moving, the Emperor used the Force to toss her back to where she had been before the incident. This time she was able to land somewhat on her feet.

"Your anger at this arrangement, is, however, understandable. I have many enemies that I wish to hunt down personally, but my position keeps me here.", the Emperor explained as she steadied herself. "I shall make you a deal, Seventh Sister, I know that you wish to claim the position of Grand Inquisitor. I have never been one to discourage ambition." The Emperor leaned forward ever so slightly in his throne.

"If the boy succeeds in capturing or killing Tano, I will promote you to Grand Inquisitor. If he should fail, his punishment shall pale in comparison to yours." Leaning back into the shadows of the throne, the Emperor asked, "Do I make myself clear?".

"Yes My Lord." she quickly replied.

"Good, I will perform the ritual in three days. One of the guards will give you a medicine, use it on the boy, it will erase all memory of his time as a prisoner. And while your new student will have no none of the boy's memories it would not do for him to remember anything if the ritual is somehow undone."

"It shall be done, My Lord.", she said, bowing deeply. The Emporer's throne turned back towards the viewport, and the Seventh Sister knew that she had been dismissed. Without another word, she turned and walked out of the throne room, pausing only to take a small vial from one of the guards. As she walked back through the Imperial Palace, she could feel a knot of fear form in her stomach. The Emporer demanded nothing short of total success from her and the boy, and had made it very clear what the price for failure would be. She continued to worry over the situation until she reached the main entrance of the Palace. She looked around and was reminded of just where she was. Smiling slightly to herself, she used her fear to fuel her anger.

"Ahsoka Tano will fall", she thought to herself. "Just like all the Jedi before her." With renewed confidence and determination, the Seventh Sister walked out of the grand entrance of what had once been the Jedi Temple.


	2. The Inquisitor

**AN: Hello There! I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Sorry for the long wait, it takes time to do things right. Please favorite, review, and feel free to send me suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Imperial Fuel Refinery Station**

**Kuat System**

Emergency klaxons wailed throughout Imperial Fuel Refinery KS-27. The entire station had gone dark. The only light was provided by emergency lamps, which were too widely spaced and dim to truly make up for the loss of power. The poor visibility was doing little to slow down the five figures that were running through one of the station's large refining areas. Despite the lighting, the runners were able to navigate the maze of pipes, tanks, and machinery. Above them, boots clanged on durasteel as the station's few stormtroopers searched for them from them from the catwalks. Suddenly, the lead figure signaled the others, and the group angled to the right. For a split second, each figure entered the light of one of the emergency lamps, and their features were revealed. In the lead was a tall Togruta female. Her lekku and montrals were patterned in blue and white, and her skin was orange, with white markings on her face. She wore light armor on her chest, forearms, and legs. Following close behind was a human male with bright green eyes and brown hair pulled into a tail behind his head. He wore a light green tunic, with dark green armor covering his right arm and shoulder. Following him was a heavy-built human in pieces of Phase 2 Clone Trooper armor, a young human female in wildly colorful Mandalorian armor, and a tall, purple-haired Lasat. The group ran a little farther, and then quickly gathered under one of the larger pieces of machinery.

Whispering to avoid being heard by the searching stormtroopers, Ahsoka spoke to the group. "Alright, we've been able to avoid being seen so far, but don't be complacent, the last thing we need in here is a firefight." The others looked around gravely at the pipes, pumps, and tanks that were all filled with highly explosive tibanna gas. "Rex, Kanan, Zeb, you will go and grab as many tibanna canisters as you can from the storage area. Be quick about it though, we only have fifteen minutes until power is restored and the storage areas are ray-shielded again. If the schematics are correct, the closest storage area should be through that door, left down the corridor, and then to your right." The three of them nodded and got ready to move out from under the machinery.

"May I ask why you singled me out?", Sabine asked.

"Of course.", Ahsoka said, turning to face the Mandalorian girl. "You're our explosives expert, aren't you?"

"I prefer the term "Explosives Artist". ", Sabine said playfully.

"Fair enough.", Ahsoka said, smiling. "You and I are going to make sure that the Empire won't be using this station ever again." Ahsoka didn't need to see Sabine's face to know that behind the Mandalorian's helmet, a smile was forming.

They had planted 10 bombs when Ahsoka began feeling uneasy. Motioning to Sabine, Ahsoka moved under the next tank. Sabine met her there seconds later. After taking a second to plant another explosive on the durasteel container, she walked up to Ahsoka. "What's up?", the younger girl asked quietly.

"Have you noticed anything unusual?", Ahsoka asked as she used the Force to probe the area. She found nothing. That was good, wasn't it?

"Not really, but this quiet is a little unnerving.", Sabine said, glancing around. Her helmet had a night-vision mode, allowing her full visibility in otherwise lightless environments. Ahsoka's own people had a unique advantage in low light environments. Their montrals allowed them to use a form of echolocation. Ahsoka had no need of this, however, as the Force told her all she needed to know about her surroundings.

Suddenly Ahsoka realized the source of both her and Sabine's unease. "The stormtroopers are gone!", she said. Creeping to the edge of the tank, Ahsoka stole a glance up to the system of catwalks where, just minutes earlier, stormtroopers had been searching for them. The catwalks, as far as she could tell, were deserted. Turning to Sabine she said, "We need to move, if the troopers aren't here, it probably means they've found the others." The two started running back through the machinery, now focusing on speed rather than stealth. "Contact the others.", Ahsoka said to Sabine. Sabine activated her wrist comm, and was rewarded with a loud blast of static. "Haar'chak!", Sabine cursed in Mando'a. "The signal is being jammed!" Ahsoka didn't blame Sabine for the outburst. This mission had gone from simple to sour in an extremely small amount of time. As they ran, Ahsoka continued to use the Force to search their surroundings, but she sensed no threat. They had almost made it to the door out of the refining area when Ahsoka felt it. From behind her, fear, anger, and hate radiated. Through the Force Ahsoka felt the threat approaching, and then her reflexes took over. Time seemed to slow as she began a spin that would bring her to face the threat. Her lightsabers flew into her hands and their bright white ignited with a hissing hum. She bought her blades up as she completed her 180 spin, blocking the crimson lightsaber blade that would have cleaved her in half. A quick counterattack and Force push from Ahsoka sent her attacker flying backward. Instead of slamming into a piece of equipment, her opponent used the momentum from her Force push to flip upwards onto a nearby set of pipes. Without taking her eyes off of her opponent Ahsoka turned her head slightly towards Sabine, who was behind her.

"Go help the others, I'll handle this.", she said calmly. Sabine hesitated, but then nodded, and ran out into the corridor. As Sabine left, the power came back on, and Ahsoka was able to get a good look at her attacker. It was a human male. On his chest, arms and legs, he wore dark Inquisitor armor with red highlights. In his hand, he held the specialized lightsaber of an Inquisitor. Unlike other Inquisitors that Ahsoka had encountered, this jedi hunter wore no helmet. Instead, he wore a simple, black, plasteel mask that covered his face from his nose down. A black hood hid the rest of his face in shadows. Even with the bright lights of the station back on, all Ahsoka could see was the Inquisitor's eyes. They glowed maliciously with the molten yellow-orange hue of one who used and embraced the Dark Side. She settled herself in the Force, and prepared for the coming fight. The Inquisitor ignited the second blade of his lightsaber and launched himself towards her. Ahsoka blocked his initial strike and responded with a quick set of jabs and slashes. She used her dual blades strategically, often attacking from two different angles in an attempt to overwhelm her opponent. The Inquisitor blocked and evaded all of her attacks and quickly went on the offensive. He only activated his blade spinner to change the angle of his attacks and Ahsoka felt slight admiration. She saw the spinning blades as a crutch. A truly skilled duelist did not need such a thing to defeat an enemy. This Inquisitor handled his weapon with both strength and finesse, and was proving to be a challenging opponent. The Inquisitor went into a complex series of attacks and suddenly Ahsoka found herself being forced back to the door. Dodging a slash that would have severed her head, Ahsoka quickly backpedaled through the door, and into the corridor beyond. Her enemy was right behind her. Ahsoka went on the offensive again, pouring all her focus into her movements. The effort was rewarded when she managed to give the Inquisitor a shallow gouge in his right arm. He grunted in pain. Her opponent's retaliation came in the form of a powerful force push, sending Ahsoka flying. She slammed into a bulkhead 20 meters away. Dazed, Ahsoka staggered to her feet.

" Surrender now, Tano!" the Inquisitor said with a deep and malicious voice as he walked towards her. "You cannot defeat me." Ahsoka simply reignited her sabers. The Inquisitor suddenly extended his hand, making a pinching motion. Ahsoka immediately felt pressure on her windpipe. Struggling to breath, Ahsoka dropped her sabers and clawed at her throat. Slowly, she was lifted off the ground. The Inquisitor approached slowly, savoring his victory. He jerked his head, dodging the blaster bolt that had come from behind him. Without releasing his hold on Ahsoka, the Inquisitor turned to face the attacker. It was Sabine. She stood 30 meters away, pistols raised, and was now sending several more blaster bolts towards the Inquisitor. He deflected them easily. Ahsoka used Sabine's distraction to her advantage. Using the Force, she picked up a nearby crate and slammed it into the Inquisitor, causing him to stumble, hiss in pain and lose focus. Ahsoka felt the pressure on her throat disappear. She had only barely steadied her breathing when she heard Sabine yelp in pain. The Inquisitor had thrown the crate that had hit him at Sabine. It had hit the Mandalorian hard, leaving her stunned and possibly unconscious on the floor. He turned to Ahsoka, his eyes burning with hate. Ahsoka called her lightsabers to her hand and attacked. Suddenly, the entire station shook, and the Inquisitor was off-balance. Ahsoka Force shoved him into the wall, knocking him out. She ran to Sabine, who was getting back on her feet. The station shook again.

"Did you trigger the bombs?", Ahsoka asked.

"Yes, so we might want to make ourselves scarce.", Sabine replied. They both started running towards the hangar, leaving behind the limp figure of the Inquisitor.

As the station continued to shake. The eyes of the unconscious figure snapped open, and the Inquisitor quickly made his way to the airlock where he had docked his ship. As soon as he had disconnected from the station, he pushed the TIE Advanced's engines to critical. Seconds later, the entire station erupted in an enormous fireball. A beep from the navicomputer notified him that his jump coordinates were ready. The fighter jumped into hyperspace moments before it was incinerated by the flames. Visibly relaxing, the Inquisitor released the controls and activated his communications systems.

**Inquisitorius Headquarters**

**Coruscant**

In one of the many rooms of the Inquisitorius Headquarters, a battle was raging. Two crimson blades slashed and stabbed through attackers. Wielding the double-bladed lightsaber was the Seventh Sister. Her body was drenched with sweat and her breathing was heavy. No matter how many enemies she killed, more kept coming. She was enjoying the challenge after being out of the field so long. The door to the room slid open and a stormtrooper stepped inside and stood at attention. Irritated at the interruption, the Seventh Sister slashed through three more attackers before yelling, "Pause!". All movement in the room stopped. Her attackers, holographic rebel troopers were all frozen in place. Deactivating her lightsaber, the Seventh sister walked across the simulation room to where the stormtrooper stood.

"What is it?", she asked, not bothering to mask her irritation.

"There is an incoming transmission from the Twelfth Brother.", the trooper replied, doing his best to hide his fear. The Seventh Sister immediately hit the control to power down the simulation room. She walked out without another word to the trooper and headed straight for the communications center. When she reached the communications center she locked the door behind her. Punching in her clearance code, she unlocked the console and activated the holoprojector. Her former pupil was in the cockpit of his starfighter.

"Report.", the Seventh Sister said, wasting no time with any sort of pleasantries.

" Ahsoka Tano has proven to be a challenging adversary." , the Twelfth Brother replied. "I was unable to capture her, and her accomplices succeeded in destroying the refueling station."

"Stay in the Kuat System. The loss of the station will hurt and hinder patrols in that area. The rebels could use that to their advantage very soon."

"Understood.", he said, ending the transmission. The Seventh Sister grinned slightly to herself. The Twelfth Brother was completely different from the pathetic 15-year old that he used to be. In the 8 months it had taken to train him, he had quickly gained control of the power within him and showed real potential."Maybe too much potential.", she thought. She would have to make sure that her former student didn't get too ambitious too soon. Shutting down the console, she left the communications room. She continued to think about the hunt for Ahsoka Tano. The former Jedi had far too much intel, knowledge, and commanding experience. However, by taking her out of the equation, the other Jedi and possibly their entire cell would suffer. She smiled slightly again. The Jedi would fall, and when they did, the rebels would all do the same.


	3. The Mission

**AN: Hello there! I want to thank everyone who has been reading for all the support. I want to take a second to talk about a suggestion I've received. I've had multiple requests to make this a Seventh Sister x Twelfth Brother story. While this is an interesting idea, I don't really write a lot of romance based stories and it would go against some of the things I had planned for this story. As a result, this will, unfortunately not be a Seventh Sister x Twelfth Brother story. Keep the suggestions coming, though! **

**If you like this story, please favorite, review, and follow it. If you dislike it, please review it and let me know specifically what you did and did not like. I'm not a perfect writer, but I will use your feedback to improve as much as I can. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Pheonix Squadron Command Ship**

**Unknown Location (Outer Rim) **

It wasn't until a few days after the raid on the Imperial Refinery that Ahsoka could remember anything that happened after Sabine triggered the bombs. At first it had all seemed hazy, as if the memories had been washed by the adrenaline and urgency of her sprint back to the stolen cargo shuttle. The pain ended up being the same way. It wasn't until the shuttle had jumped into hyperspace that the rush of adrenaline subsided. Only then did Ahsoka realize the extent of her wounds. Every breath had caused a fresh wave of agony. The pain and exhaustion had overwhelmed her and within moments she was falling, her vision quickly being overtaken by darkness. She had been unconscious before she had hit the floor.

She had woken up in the medbay aboard the command ship, her body aching and her thoughts fuzzy from the effects of strong painkillers. Her most serious injuries had been two broken ribs and moderate head trauma, both of which she had received from being Force-pushed into the wall. The first two days in the medbay had been full of meditation, bacta therapy, and healing trances. When the third day in the medbay came, Ahsoka was so stir crazy that she was ready to dissect the 2-1B medical droid with her lightsabers. It wasn't until the next morning that Ahsoka was released from the medbay. Over the next two days, she inquired about the fleet's current location, upcoming missions, and the status of the _Ghost _crew. Ahsoka was quickly brought up to speed on everything. On the third day after being released from the medbay, Ahsoka received a request to meet from Commander Sato. Though the request did not specify a time, Ahsoka was experienced enough to know that punctuality was important for such things. Less than one standard hour later, Ahsoka was walking into Sato's office. The office was small, but the CR90 corvette they were aboard wasn't large enough to afford the space a more spacious office would take up. Sato looked up from the datapad he was reading as she entered.

"Greetings, Ahsoka", Commander Sato said, standing and extending a hand.

"Hello, Commander", Ahsoka replied as she shook the man's hand. The lack of salutes and usage of her first name in the exchange reminded Ahsoka of her lack of official rank within the Squadron. At times, her absence in the chain of command caused her some irritations, especially when she had to deal with others within the growing Phoenix Squadron that did not know her or her reputation. It almost made her nostalgic of her time as a Commander in the Clone Wars. She stopped that line of thought immediately. Thinking of the Clone Wars would inevitably lead to thoughts of Anakin, and such thoughts never held anything but pain and distraction for Ahsoka. Sato sat, and with a gesture to another chair on the other side of his well-organized desk, suggested she do the same. There was a short exchange of pleasantries, most of it consisting of Sato inquiring about Ahsoka's recovery. Her responses, while polite, were short. Sato took no offense, they both were more focused on the real reason they were here. Sato moved into the debriefing without any further preamble.

"You will be happy to know that the raid on the refinery station in the Kuat system was a success.", he said as he pulled up a file on his datapad. "All injuries, excluding yours and Sabine's, were minor, and the fuel you acquired will meet our current needs for several standard months." He looked up from his datapad, his eyes hard and his expression grave. "It would seem, however, that no victory goes un-punished. You and Sabine discovered yet another Inquisitor, one that came close to killing both of you. Sabine only sustained a mild concussion and left with the rest of the _Ghost_ crew for a supply run while you were still unconscious. I had hoped that she would have returned in time to attend this meeting as well, but it would seem-" He was interrupted by a chime from the door. "Enter.", he said, rising to greet the new arrival. The door opened and in stepped Sabine, her helmet held under one arm. She walked in and greeted both of them, and at a motion from Commander Sato, claimed a third seat next to Ahsoka.

"Sorry I'm late", the teenage Mando said. "Our supply run took longer than expected. We docked just now, I came as fast as I could." Sato assured her that it was not a problem, and continued.

"The two of you were the only members of the _Ghost_ crew that encountered the Inquisitor and from what little data that your droid, Chopper accessed during the mission, there was no record of the Inquisitor being on the station at all. Our only concrete record of your encounter was video recorded by Sabine's helmet vidcam." Taking her cue, Sabine reached into her helmet and pulled out a small, retractable data plug. She plugged it into an adaptor on Sato's desk and a large, wall-mounted vidscreen flickered to life. The video began with a view of Ahsoka backpedaling into the corridor, as she fought off her attacker. The video became a little shaky as Sabine began running toward the dueling Force-wielders. Ahsoka watched as her past self was Force shoved into the wall, and then lifted off her feet as she was Force choked. The video became even less clear as Sabine brought her arms up and began firing her dual pistols. The bolts were deflected easily by the Inquisitor, and suddenly the video became completely jumbled as Sabine dove out of the way of her own blaster bolts. The video refocused just as Ahsoka had slammed a crate into the Inquisitor's leg. Seconds later, the crate came hurling towards Sabine just as she was raising her blasters for another volley. The video stopped just before the crate hit home.

"Judging by body type and movements,", Sato began. "We know that the Inquisitor is a human or very nearly human and male." He tapped his datapad and an image of the Inquisitor as he was Force choking Ahsoka appeared on the screen. Ahsoka studied the image, and suddenly realized something she had been too busy fighting to see on the station.

"He's shorter than an average human male.", Ahsoka said.

"Correct", Sato replied. "I showed the video to the medical droid. It told me that considering the difference in height between him and Ahsoka, and considering the average growth pattern for human males, the Inquisitor is no younger than fifteen standard years old." Both Sabine and Ahsoka were taken aback, though Ahsoka didn't let it show as much. Nevertheless, the idea of an Inquisitor that was as old as Ezra and able to best Ahsoka was disturbing.

"We have no further information about this new Inquisitor", Sato said as he switched off the vidscreen.

"You shouldn't find anymore, either.", said Sabine."Ahsoka knocked him out cold, he was killed when the station exploded."

"Possibly", Sato said, his face growing even more serious. "But that is not something we can be sure of. Captain Syndulla's report stated that her sensors picked up a Tie Advanced accelerating away from the station in the moments before it exploded."

"Inquisitors aren't the easiest beings to kill, this one especially," Sabine observed, a little concern creeping into her voice. "You think he's still alive?"

"A spy in the Imperial shipyards on Kuat reported a Tie Advanced coming in for repairs less than a day after the raid on the station.", Sato replied."Given that and Captain Syndulla's report, I find it highly unlikely that the Inquisitor was killed."

"So what's our next move?",Ahsoka asked.

"If this Inquisitor can best you, Ahsoka, then he is a threat to all of us.", Sato began. "Our spies report that he is still on Kuat, overseeing the starfighter manufacturing operations while his ship is being repaired. There is a small but well-equipped resistance group on Kuat. You and the _Ghost _crew will coordinate with them and take this Inquisitor down. Your secondary mission is reconnaissance of potential targets for Pheonix squadron. The refinery you destroyed was also a fueling station. Its absence leaves a temporary hole in the Imperial patrol network near Kuat. If we can destroy any of the manufacturing facilities on Kuat, the Empire will suffer a major setback. You will leave in twelve standard hours, further details have been sent to your personal datapads." Both women stood. Sabine gave a relaxed salute, and Ahsoka bowed. Just as Ahsoka was walking out of the office Sato gave her one final piece of advice.

"Be careful Ahsoka, the rebellion can't afford to lose someone like you."

**Kuat**

The mission had gone surprisingly smooth. The _Ghost_ had been admitted into the Kuati spaceport under the alias of _Comet Chaser_. The crew's fabricated ID's had passed all Imperial checkpoints without a hitch. Finding the resistance had been easy as well. Now the _Ghost _crew was split up in groups of two and doing reconnaissance. Sabine and Ahsoka were currently on top of one of the higher rooftops, watching the starfighter manufacturing plant through macrobinoculars. The troop presence was heavy here. Speeders and dropships patrolled the airspace diligently, while dozens of white-armored stormtroopers stood rigid guard along the perimeter walls of the complex.

"So this is where the Inquisitor is?", Sabine asked, looking uncomfortable without the protection of her beskar'gam armor. Her armor, too conspicuous for this mission, was currently back at the resistance HQ. "How exactly are we going to get in there.?" Ahsoka didn't have an answer for her. The troops were perfectly positioned and the shift changes were so seamless that there never seemed to be a lessened presence.

"It's possible that the Inquisitor saw the weaknesses in the defenses and corrected them.", Ahsoka said."Our best shot now would be to try to draw the Inquisitor out."

"So what now?", the young warrior inquired.

"We should head back to base and reconsider our strategy with the resistance leaders and the rest of the crew." Ahsoka said, standing up from her prone position. A chirp from her comlink alerted her to an incoming transmission. Ahsoka pressed the button to open the channel and listened. The voice on the other end was distorted by static and panic.

"This is Kuati Resistance HQ to the _Ghost _crew. We are under attack, I repeat we are under a-", a burst of buzzing static temporarily drowned out the transmission. It passed, but the rest of the message was stuttery and often interrupted. "The Imperials found our… need reinforcements! Local transmissions almost … hurry! The … is here, … repeat the Inquisitor is here!" There was a sudden, garbled scream and there was nothing to hear afterward but static. Ahsoka felt her blood run cold. The resistance fighters of Kuat were being massacred in their own base.

"We better hurry.", Ahsoka said, deactivating the comlink and returning it to her belt. "We're the closest ones to the base." Sabine simply nodded and both women climbed down from the building and walked as fast as the could without arousing suspicion. Ahsoka could only hope that it would be fast enough.


	4. The Battle

**AN: Hello there! I apologize for the recent stall in updates. School has been keeping me busy. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Thanks again for the support.**

**If you like this story, please favorite, review, and follow it. If you dislike it, please review it and let me know specifically what you did and did not like. I'm not a perfect writer, but I will use your feedback to improve as much as I can. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Kuati Resistance Headquarters**

**Kuat **

The headquarters consisted of an old underground bunker that had been constructed during the height of the Clone Wars. After the rise of the Empire, the bunker had been sealed off, and a repair shop had been built on top of it. The shop was now a front for the resistance and allowed access to the bunker through a secret entrance in the floor. Ahsoka and Sabine arrived to find a single, high-powered speeder bike parked in front of the shop. Sabine quickly put a small detonator onto the side of the bike as they walked past it. The door to the shop had been bent inward and up, and as Ahsoka and Sabine approached it, the arcid stench of fresh carbon scoring wafted out of the opening. Ahsoka stepped inside, intensely focused on her surroundings and the feeling of the Force. The power was out, the attackers had probably sabotaged the main breaker before forcing their way in. Ahsoka retrieved a glowrod from her belt and activated it, revealing a grisly scene. Five human resistance fighters dressed in the grease-stained garments of repair shop workers were strewn haphazardly across the room. They all had small holdout blasters still clutched in their cold, dead hands. Not all of the bodies were whole either, one man had been cut completely in half, the site at which his torso and legs had been separated was completely cauterized. One woman was lying crumpled near a bit of repair equipment, her head missing from her shoulders. The other three had been stabbed through the chest.

"Krif", Sabine said simply as she took in the surrounding carnage.

"There's nothing we can do here.",Ahsoka said in a somber tone. They moved into the back of the shop. Hidden among the racks of spare parts was the secret entrance to the bunker. It had been blown open as well. Ahsoka grabbed and activated one of her lightsabers, holding it above her head and shedding further illumination on their surroundings. The wall panel that had served as an undetectable entrance to the headquarters had been shattered as if it had been transparisteel. Immediately inside the entrance, more bodies could be seen, all were in more or less the same condition as the one back in the shop. These men and women had been fully armed and armored. The bunker had hosted a small contingent of clone troopers during the war and as a result, the bunker had been well stocked with phase 2 clone armor and DC-17 blasters. The resistance fighters had put these to good use and Ahsoka felt a pang as she and Sabine passed a trio of bodies in full armor. The scene reminded her too much of the losses she had witnessed during her time as a Commander in the Clone Wars. Ahsoka and Sabine moved deeper into the bunker, finding only more bodies. There was no sound save for the hum of Ahsoka's lightsaber.

Suddenly, from down the corridor they were currently walking through, Ahsoka heard the sound of blaster fire. Hoping that they might not be too late after all, Sabine and Ahsoka ran towards the sound. They came to the mess hall and discovered that they were too late after all. The blaster fire they had heard was coming from a single resistance soldier. His target was a dark figure wielding a lightsaber with two crimson blades. It was the Inquisitor. He advanced slowly, deflecting the fire from the frantic rebel with ease. The rebel, who had been backpedaling away from the Inquisitor, started as he felt his back touch the mess hall wall. His pistol dropped for just a second, but that was all it took. The Inquisitor lunged, using the force to enhance his speed. The tip of his glowing blade plunged through the rebel and into the durasteel behind him. The rebel crumpled to the ground. The entire exchange had taken only two seconds. The Inquisitor turned towards the two new arrivals.

"We meet again Jedi Tano.", he said, pulling his blade out of the wall. "This time you will not get away."

"Funny,'' quipped Sabine as she took aim with her dual pistols. "I was about to say the same to you."

Ahsoka's comlink chirped, she unhooked it from her belt and opened the channel, never taking her eyes off of the lazily approaching Inquisitor.

"Ahsoka", the voice on the other end was Ezra's. "We got cut off on our way to the headquarters. We're pinned down by two squads of stormtroopers and a walker. We could really use some help out here." Ahsoka clicked the comlink off and ignited her second lightsaber.

"Sabine go help the others.", she said.

"Are you crazy?", Sabine asked, not making any move to do so. "The last time you fought him you almost died."

"So did you.", Ahsoka replied evenly. "And this time you don't have your armor, so go." Sabine hesitated, but then obeyed.

"Kick his arse.", she said as she left. Ahsoka smiled slightly and then readied herself for the coming battle.

"Brave of you to face me alone", the Inquisitor said, lazily twirling his lightsaber as he approached. "But as your young friend said, you cannot defeat me." The light from Ahsoka's bright blades caused his yellow-orange eyes to flash from underneath his hood. In the dim light of the mess hall, the rest of his body was barely more than a shadow. He casually held his lightsaber at the ready, the two crimson blades shed a morbid shade on their surroundings. Had she not encountered him before, Ahsoka might have taken him for some unnatural dark-side fiend. For a moment the two force wielders stood there, sabers at the ready and eyes locked on each other. Ahsoka waited the moment out, knowing that being the first to attack in this scenario had more dangers than it had benefits. The Inquisitor gave a low, almost inhuman growl and sprang at her.

The fear and pain he had collected during his rampage through the bunker had stoked his dark side powers to elevated levels. The ferocity and power with which he attacked was impressive. For any lesser duelist, it would have been overwhelming. Ahsoka fought with her own intensity. After fighting off the Inquisitor's first flurry of attacks, Ahoska began one of her own. The Inquisitor, however, seemed to have no difficulty with defending himself. He ducked and blocked her blows with unsettling ease and precision, and Ahsoka suddenly found herself back on the defensive. They battled across the mess hall, their blades hissing with each blow. Finally, Ahsoka managed to lock her blades with his. With an effort, Ahsoka twisted the Inquisitor's hilt from his hand, sending it flying away. The now unarmed Inquisitor gave her no chance to attack again. He sent Ahsoka flying with a vicious Force-shove. Using the Force, Ahsoka slowed herself enough to land in a controlled crouch.

"You've improved", Ashoka said as she stood and readied herself to re-engage. This earned her another growl.

"You have no idea.", The Inquisitor said. The room seemed to grow darker still and Ahsoka was suddenly cold. The Inquisitor called his weapon to his hand and leaped toward her.

They battled on until they came to the center of the mess hall. Through the Force, Ahsoka could feel him drawing on the surrounding carnage and the lingering pain and fear. The dark side became so strong around him that it was almost tangible. Ahsoka struck at the Inquisitor's leg, hoping to put him off balance. He simply leaped over the blade, using his jump as the beginning of a long acrobatic series of thrusts and slashes that nearly caused Ahsoka to give up more ground. Then she felt the Inquisitor launch an attack on her. Ahsoka suddenly felt her calm and concentration threatening to abandon her. Dark side energy seemed to surround and invade her. She was suddenly hard-pressed to block his blades as the attack was now on two fronts. Clinging to the light side like a lifeline, Ahsoka went into a complex series of attacks that forced the Inquisitor to dedicate all his attention to blocking her blades. Ahsoka felt his focus shift and then began her own mental attack. She centered herself farther into the light side, drawing on serenity and peace. She began to smother the Inquisitor's dark side powers with her own energies.

The Inquisitor screamed as if his very flesh was being burned. He dropped to his knees, his lightsaber falling from his grasp. Ahsoka was taken aback. This mental attack technique was effective, yes, but she had never seen anyone react to it like this. She maintained the flow of light side energy and raised her blades to end the battle. Before she could strike, Ahsoka was suddenly pushed back. She landed several meters away, close to the door that she and Sabine had entered through. This time she wasn't able to perform a controlled landing. Ahsoka landed on her back and felt the air rush from her lungs. Her concentration broke as she struggled to catch her breath, and she felt her mental assault on the Inquisitor subside. Rising to her feet, Ahsoka took in a startling scene The Inquisitor hadn't stopped screaming. His body was surrounded by a physical aura of dark side energy. The aura seemed to be coming apart. The energy was being released raw and uncontrolled. Ahsoka watched with fascinated horror as another shockwave sent a table into the mess hall's kitchen, causing an explosion and starting fires. Benches and bodies flew at random. A tingle of danger sense worked its way up Ahsoka's spine. She ran for the door as a shockwave of energy exploded from the Inquisitor. Everything in the room was thrown outward. Ahsoka barely made it through the door before an object slammed into the back of her head. She fell, her vision going blurry and her hearing fading out.

She laid there with no concept of time. It could have been a second, it could have been a century. Gradually, she forced herself to full awareness again. Turning, Ahsoka looked back towards the mess hall. The room was a mess of broken objects and fire. The Inquisitor was nowhere to be seen. She looked down and found the object that had struck her. It was the Inquisitor's lightsaber. It was charred and bent, but otherwise intact. Tentatively, Ahsoka picked it up and hooked it to her belt. A loud rumble boomed through the bunker, and Ahsoka was suddenly very certain that the explosion of dark side energy had caused damage all throughout the bunker. She began to run back through the bunker. From behind her, she heard the tortured groans of durasteel being bent and broken. The rumbling continued to shake the bunker, forcing Ahsoka to use the Force to keep her footing. A rush of relief and joy flooded through her as she sprinted out of the shop moments before it too crumbled into a large sinkhole that had been formed by the destruction of the bunker.

While her vision adjusted to the increase in light, Ahsoka took stock of her surroundings. The air was thick with the smell of dust and smoke. Sirens blared in the distance, announcing the approach of emergency response and security teams. Ahsoka sensed no sentient life forms in her vicinity, and her danger-sense was quiet. As her eyes completely adjusted, Ahsoka turned to survey the destruction the bunkers collapse had caused. The shop and bunker were located in a mostly deserted area of the city, and Ahsoka knew that this had prevented a large number of civilian casualties. The sinkhole had still destroyed two small apartment complexes. Ahsoka took a moment to mourn the loss of any occupants that had been killed. The sirens were getting closer now, prompting Ahsoka to begin moving away from the sinkhole, and farther into the city. Once she was a good distance away, Ahsoka activated her comlink and switched it over to the _Ghost _crew's secure channel.

"Specter Five this is Fulcrum,'' she said quietly. "Did you rendezvous with the others?"

"Affirmative Fulcrum", came Sabine's youthful voice. "We're tracking your location and are coming in for a pick-up."

"Fulcrum, this is Spectre One, what is the status of the Inquisitor?", Kanan asked.

"Inquisitor is eliminated, Spectre One.", Ahsoka replied. She had felt the dark side presence being ripped from the force when the shockwave of dark side energy had exploded in the mess hall.

"Understood, extraction in five minutes, Fulcrum, see you soon.", Kanan replied somberly.


	5. The Plan

**AN: Hello There! I'm loving all the feedback I'm getting! Its been giving me a lot of new ideas as well as helping me to improve the story (shoutout to 1saaa for the comment about breaking up the giant blocks of text). Thanks again for all the support!**

**If you like this story, please favorite, review, and follow it. If you dislike it, please review it and let me know specifically what you did and did not like. I'm not a perfect writer, but I will use your feedback to improve as much as I can. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy it!**

_In the beginning, there was only pain. Pain so intense, it surpassed any sense of time. As he lay there, pinned beneath a large piece of rubble, an eternity passed. He could move a little, but even that caused pain. His clothing was nothing but rags, charred beyond recognition. It offered no protection from the sharp, rough rubble he was pinned against. He laid there, somewhere between life and death, where time had no meaning. Then there was a rumble. Dust fell from the wreckage and coated his parched throat. More rumblings had followed, getting closer and more powerful. After another eternity, the closest rumble yet occurred. A huge piece of wreckage was lifted away, pulling metal beam that had kept him pinned there with it. The darkness was replaced with painfully bright light, and the ceaseless rumblings were replaced by voices. It was surreal, and the last thing he had thought before unconsciousness finally overtook him, was that he was going to die._

**Imperial Labour Camp**

**Kuat**

Death would have been the preferred outcome. Even the most gruesome concepts of the afterlife would have been paradise when compared to where he was now. He had been taken into custody and rushed to a prison hospital after he had been discovered. Recovery had taken weeks and had been nearly devoid of interaction with any living being. He had been tended to by expressionless machines, or droids, as he now knew they were called. It had been a long and isolated two weeks. Now it seemed like heaven. After he had recovered, the interrogation had started. For another week, he had been held in a solitary cell, receiving multiple visits every day from a man who claimed to be an officer in something called the ISB. He hadn't been able to answer any of the officer's questions. He didn't even know his own name. He had suffered for every answer he failed to give.

A loud alarm startled him out of his reminiscing. The lights in the cramped cell flashed to life. The day had begun. He pushed himself up from the lightly padded cot, groaning as his sore muscles screamed in protest. He ran his fingers through his messy, light brown hair, trying to coax it into a relatively presentable state. He winced as his thumb brushed the long scar that ran from his chin, past his left eye, and up to his temple. This mark was from the collapse of the bunker in which he had been found. It was still tender to the touch. It wasn't without it's benefits though. It made him look tougher than the average five-and-a-half foot tall, sixteen-year-old human male. And considering where he was, he would take all the help he could get. With a click, the heavy metal cell door slid open, and he quickly exited his cell, making his way to the factory floor with the rest of the prison's occupants. Beings of all types pressed in as the prisoners were herded to their destination. He still hadn't been taught the names of half of the species he saw, but education had never been high on his captors' priorities. He was here to work, and supposedly make up for the crimes that he didn't even remember committing. It was a joke, and not a good one either. The warden had told him that he would be doing a great service to the 'Empire'. He didn't know much about the Empire as a whole, but if this prison was any indication, it wasn't something he wanted to do a service to.

The flow of inmates made its way into the large space that was the worker's ready room. They were each assigned to a different part of the manufacturing process and then sent into the factory. It was a dim, depressing, and dangerous place. The factory they worked in was fully dedicated to the manufacturing of the standard-issue E-11 blaster rifle. The prisoners were mostly responsible for building the metal structure of the weapon. They were required to sort and meltdown scrap metal and then pour the melted material into molds that would later be cooled. It was painfully ironic that they were helping to build the weapons that were constantly trained on them by stormtroopers in the overhead catwalk system.

He still didn't know his name, but his captors had quickly given him one, Inmate 7314. For months that was all he had been called. He would later receive another name from another inmate, "Aeron". The inmate, an elderly human male, must have mistaken him for a long-lost relative. At that point, he had been so desperate for a sense of identity that he had accepted it as his name, even after the old man had died from sheer exhaustion on the factory floor. Aeron had felt a pang as he watched two stormtroopers haul the body away, but he knew that he was all too numb to such occurrences. Beings died on a weekly basis. Most were old or sick, but too many were victims of simple accidents. Aeron had seen many prisoners die from falling into one of the melting pits that lined the front of the assembly line. Others succumbed to respiratory failures after breathing in too many fumes from various areas of the factory floor. Aeron had only survived this long because of his quick reflexes and young immune system. Death, however, seemed inevitable.

After six hours of hot, grueling labor, the prisoners were herded to the mess hall for a quick midday meal. This was possibly the most dangerous time of the day. The prison's rougher resident's often took this opportunity to cause trouble, and it was not uncommon for the entire mess-hall to erupt in the fighting. Aeron kept his head low, not making direct eye-contact with anyone as he waited in line to receive his rations. He took his meal of nutripaste and water to a table in the far corner of the room. No table was completely empty, but this one was usually inhabited by the least violent, or most apathetic prisoners. Aeron took a seat and began to suck on his tube of nutripaste. He was halfway through his meal when he heard a yelp from farther down the table. Glancing up from his food, he took in a scene that was all too familiar.

One of the most sadistic inmates, a one-eyed Nikto known as Scrap-Eye, was tormenting the prison's newest arrival, an adolescent Twi'lek male. Aeron looked back down. Scrap-eye wasn't trying to steal the boy's food, he was doing this for fun. Aeron went back to his food, his best bet was to ignore the situation, even if it made his blood boil. After a minute, he forgot about the scene at the other end of the table. Then came a louder, more desperate yelp. Despite his best efforts, Aeron's head immediately snapped up to look. The Nikto inmate had grabbed one of the youth's lekku and was now holding the Twi'lek in the air. The blue skinned being was now starting to scream as the pain of being hoisted up by his sensitive appendage overrode his desire to stay silent. Aeron now watched openly as Scrap-Eye slid a small sharp piece of metal from his sleeve and held it up to the Twi'lek's face. Aeron looked towards the guards, but they watched on, seemingly impassive behind their white helmets. Aeron fought to stay still, to stay silent. He knew that it was useless. He knew that his conscience wouldn't allow him to silently watch the Nikto torture the boy.

Aeron stood up, and made his way nonchalantly over to the Nikto. He didn't want to attract the attention of the guards or Scrap-Eye. Luckily, most prisoners were allowed to mingle during meals, so he had some crowded areas to hide his approach. Aeron approached the Nikto from behind, and tapped him gently on the shoulder. The Nikto's head whipped around, just in time for Aeron to smash his fist into Scrap-Eye's nose. The alien staggered back, dropping the Twi'lek and cursing Aeron loudly and fluently.. Aeron had a single moment to appreciate his handiwork, before a stun bolt took him from the side, and everything faded away.

**Kuat Spaceport **

Sabine was bored out of her mind. She usually had no problems keeping herself busy, but after a full week of being stuck on Kuat, it was becoming more difficult to keep her hands and mind distracted. The Imperials had reacted quickly to the attack on the starfighter factory and the destruction of the rebellion's bunker. Despite their best efforts, the Ghost crew hadn't been able to make it off of Kuat before the Imps had initiated a full planetary lockdown. From what the crew had been able to pick up on Imperial comm channels, there was at least five Star Destroyers in orbit to enforce the lockdown. So they had decided to lay low until the lockdown was cleared. They had been successful so far, managing to stay below the Imp's radar by bribing the port officials to keep them off the spaceport database. The lockdown hadn't been lifted yet though, and their supply of credits wouldn't last forever. So Kanan, Hera, and Ahsoka had started planning a distraction that would allow them to slip through the blockade. Of course, Sabine had yet to be filled in on the plan and it made her all the more restless.

She was currently sitting in her cabin, a drawing program open on her datapad. The screen was blank, she had not yet found any source of inspiration. After another moment of frustrating blank-mindedness, Sabine cursed and threw the datapad towards the closed cabin door. She then watched in horror as the door opened to reveal Ahsoka. With a speed born from training and combat-sharpenned reflexes, the Togruta female caught the datapad. Ahsoka raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"I'm sorry Ahsoka", Sabine said quickly. "I let my frustration get away from me."

"It's alright", Ahsoka replied, tossing the datapad back to Sabine. "I often felt the same way when I was your age." Sabine sat up a little, Ahsoka spoke of her past so very rarely.

"Angry?",Sabine asked.

"Not necessarily", Ahsoka said, walking into the rest of the way into the cabin. "More like antsy. Itching for a fight, or just something to do." She sat down on the bunk next to Sabine. Emboldened by Ahsoka's rare openness, Sabine decided to ask something that she had been thinking about.

"Can I ask you a question Ahsoka?"

"Sure."

"Where were you when the Jedi Purge happened?"

Ahsoka paused before answering, her mood darkening slightly.

"Mandalore." She looked at Sabine. "Why do you ask?"

Sabine shifted, uncomfortable under the scrutiny.

"Well, Rex was telling me stories about how the two of you fought together all the way up to the purge, but you told us that you left the Jedi well before then."

Ahsoka gave a small smile.

"It's a long story but the gist of it is that the Jedi needed my help to fight a powerful adversary. They were spread thin at that point in the war,and I decided to help."

Sabine nodded, satisfied with the answer and making a mental note to do some more research on Mandalore during the end of the Clone Wars. Ahsoka stood, going from reminiscent to no-nonsense in the blink of an eye.

"We're having a meeting in the common room in ten minutes." She stood and looked at her chrono."Well, more like five minutes now. Would you let the others know?"

"No problem", Sabine replied. She stood and left the cabin behind Ahsoka and then turned down the corridor to the _Ghost's _cargo hold.

As she came into the hold, Sabine was greeted by the sound of clashing lightsabers. Kanan and Ezra were so caught up in their duel that Sabine was able to watch for a minute. The two clashed back and forth, attacking, blocking and counterattacking. Sabine had watched the two train before, and she knew that Kanan wasn't giving his all. Ezra on the other hand was doing everything he could to get past. His efforts, while impressive, were proven futile when he slashed out and over-extended himself. With incredible speed, Kanan grabbed Ezra's wrist and gave a sharp tug. Ezra, already off-balance, face-planted into the deck. Sabine snickered, causing both master, and apprentice to look up at her.

"We've got a meeting in the common room in...", she checked her chrono. "Three minutes. Attendance is-"

"Mandatory, yes, thank you Sabine." Ezra replied sarcastically as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Well look at that, you're learning." Sabine quipped.

"Not fast enough, apparently", said Kanan. He shut off his lightsaber with a hiss. "Thanks Sabine, we'll be there." Sabine turned and headed up to the _Phantom's _docking port.

Zeb and Chopper were, predictably, arguing when she arrived.

"No, I did not say I was ready for the life support filters to be purged!" she heard an agitated Zeb say. Chopper replied with a saucy string of beeps.

"Yeah, it was a good trick, and if you keep quiet, I'll let you do it to Ezra sometime." Zeb replied.

Sabine approached the hatch that led to the _Phantom_.

"Hey, we've got a meeting in the common room right now." She called.

"Alright, we'll be right there", Zeb replied.

Sabine made her way back to the common room without another word.

Hera, Ahsoka, Kanan, and Ezra were already there when she arrived. The holotable was turned on and displaying a schematic of a building that was unfamiliar to Sabine, but clearly Imperial in design. After a moment of waiting, Zeb and Chopper arrived and the meeting could begin.

"Since the incident at the old bunker", Ahsoka began. "Security has gotten too tight around the starfighter manufacturing plant. Luckily, we have an alternative target. She gestured towards the holotable display. "This is the Imperial Labour Camp that is responsible for providing most of the E-11 blaster rifles in this sector. Its less than one kilometer away,and is only moderately fortified from the outside. Currently, ships in this spaceport have to be physically checked and cleared for takeoff by the authorities. Obviously we can't allow anyone on board and we don't need anyone taking too close a look outside.

"But we obviously can't stay here." said Hera, stepping in. "The planetary lockdown caused by the bunker incident has been lifted, but we still need a distraction to leave."

"I fail to see how this relates to the prison camp." said a confused Zeb.

"I don't", Sabine said. "If we cause a massive release of prisoners, all the ships in the port will be released. Imperial protocol in the event of a large escape is to remove any interstellar transport within a one kilometer radius.

"Chopper and I will stay behind and run extraction ops", Hera said. "The rest of you are going to let loose some prisoners.


	6. The Rescue

**AN: Hello There! Yes, I'm back, I know it's been a while. Between school and everything else, I've been keeping pretty busy. However, the work continues, and I will not stop writing until this story is finished! Please be patient, though, because updates may come rather sporadically. Again, I can't thank you enough for your support. **

**If you like this story, please favorite, review, and follow it. If you dislike it, please review it and let me know specifically what you did and did not like. I'm not a perfect writer, but I will use your feedback to improve as much as I can. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Imperial Labor Camp**

**Kuat**

"Wake up, 7134, you've got a hell of a day ahead of you."

Aeron startled awake. He sat up, trying desperately to take stock of his surroundings through his unfocused eyes. The stormtrooper that had awakened him walked away. He blinked and shook his head, trying to clear whatever it was that was dulling his focus. "What happened?" he wondered to himself. Then he remembered. He had gotten stunned after clocking Scrap-Eye. He looked around, finally finding focus. He was in a high-security cell. He stood up, grimacing as his back popped and crackled. The bed wasn't any more comfortable than the bunk he usually slept in. He walked to the door, and peered out through the thick durasteel bars. He wasn't even in the same area as the other prisoners. In the distance, he heard an alarm sound. It was time for the morning work shifts. Aeron stepped back, expecting the door to open automatically. It didn't. Instead, a security droid came by with a set of electro-hobbles in one hand, and a stun baton in the other.. He opened the door, and stepped in. The space, already cramped to begin with, was almost completely taken up by the hulking droid. Aeron had no choice but to sit on the bed and allow the hobbles to be fastened. The hobbles were a set of four cuffs that would allow only a limited range of motion in any of his limbs. The droid grabbed Aerons shoulder and pulled him to his feet, then, still holding him, escorted him out of the cell and to the factory floor. Aeron was forced to shuffle awkwardly, as the hobbles wouldn't allow him to walk normally.

The droid released Aeron when they arrived at the work assignment station. Two stormtroopers, each wielding stun batons of their own to its place. Aeron was assigned to the melting pits, and, as extra punishment, was not allowed gloves or any other protection. Aeron felt a cold pit of worry form in his stomach. This job was dangerous. Prisoners were required to move large, often razor sharp pieces of scrap metal into the melting pits. Without gloves or heat protection, Aeron could badly cut himself or die of heat stroke if he wasn't careful. The hobbles wouldn't help either. If he lost his balance next to one of the melting pits, it would be all over for him. If he refused to work though, his punishment would be much more unpleasant and painful. As the stormtroopers led him away, he thought to himself, "This sure is going to be one hell of a day."

It was late afternoon when the emergency klaxons began blaring. All the workers stopped and looked around, unsure of what was happening. The stormtrooper directed them to keep working, giving any who disobeyed a jolt from their stun batons. The alarms continued to blare for the next five minutes. Then the power went out. Aeron froze, his only illumination was the glow of the melting pit nearby. After a moment of silence, the emergency lights came on, and all hell broke loose. The ray shields that blocked the exit from the factory floor had failed to come back on, and now the prisoners were making a run for the exits. The guards quickly responded and the screams of beings and the load buzzing of stun batons filled the air. Aeron was about to make for the doors himself, when he felt a strong, armoured hand grab his shoulder, and heard a stun baton being activated. He had completely forgotten about the two troopers that had been watching him throughout the day.

"Don't even think about-", the trooper was suddenly cut off by a load snap-hiss. Aeron jumped away and turned to see the the two troopers, each impaled by a bright white energy beam. The blades were pulled from the troopers' bodies in one motion and their owner stepped into the dim illumination of the emergency lights. She was Togruta, one of the few species Aeron actually knew. She wore light combat armor over her robes and held herself with a regal grace. Without a word, she leapt over Aeron, and the melting pit, and began running towards the stormtroopers that were now pouring into the room. Aeron stood there for a moment, bewildered and amazed. Then a stray blaster bolt pinged into the floor beside him, causing him to snap out of his haze. The area had devolved into complete chaos. Prisoners continued to fight the stormtroopers and now Aeron could see even more fighting each other. Aeron could now see four figures, two with blasters and the other two with glowing energy blades, aiding the prisoners in their battle against the guards.

"Well ,well." came an all too familiar voice from behind him. Aeron turned to find Scrap-Eye and four of his Nikto buddies coming up behind him. All were armed with various tools and scrap metal, all were there with one intention.

"Scrap-Eye", Aeron said trying to act calm and smug. "How's your nose feeling?"

"Stupid piece of human trash! Get him boys!", The Nikto yelled.

Aeron dodged the first five attacks from the group. He would have dodged a sixth, but the hobbles tripped him up and sent him tumbling to the ground. He got back up just in time to receive a piece of metal tubing to the ribs. He felt something crack and then excruciating pain. He fought to stay on his feet. Then he took fist to the side of the head, dazing him, knocking him to his knees. Still he fought, throwing wild punches and moving as much as he could. It was all fine until one Nikto with a sharp piece of scrap metal put the nail in Aeron's coffin. With a sickening jolt, Aeron felt himself being impaled right below his shoulder. Suddenly light-headed, he fell back onto the ground. Looking down, he saw the point of the metal sticking out of him. Blood was already beginning to flow from the wound. It wouldn't kill him right now, but if he couldn't stop the bleeding, Aeron would be dead in well under an hour. Scrap-Eye approached casually. He squatted down next to Aeron, and the rest of his gang gathered around.

"Do you know what it feels like", Scrap-Eye said menacingly as he pulled out a small sharp piece of metal from his sleeve. "to lose an eye?"

Aeron felt himself grow angry, angrier than he could ever remember being. It wasn't bad enough that he was going to die, he was going to be mutilated first by this sick, sadistic being. He felt something building up inside him. He felt like he was about to burst. As Scrap-Eye brought the jagged metal up to his face, Aeron lost it. On pure instinct he threw out his hands, screaming in pain and anger. Scrap-Eye and his accomplices went flying across the factory floor. Nearby scrap metal took flight as well, sailing away from Aeron in all directions. Utterly spent, Aeron let unconsciousness take him.

Ahsoka heard a scream and felt her danger sense prickle. She ducked, relying completely on instinct and the Force. A small, jagged piece of metal flew over her head and sank into the durasteel wall behind her. It had gone too fast to have been thrown. Throughout the the factory floor, scrap metal and other debri had sailed into the walls. Ahsoka made her way to the epicenter of the blast, deflecting stray bolts from the few remaining stormtroopers. Most of the prisoners had left the area, and were on their way out into the world. Those who remained were either dead or wounded. Leaping over a work station, Ahsoka arrived at the site of the blast. She found the last thing she had expected. A teenage human male lay in a pool of blood with a long piece of scrap metal impaling him at the shoulder. Ahsoka could feel his presence in the force, weak, but still there. She could also feel… She gasped. She could feel the Force within him, bright, abundant, and very strong. She triggered her comm.

"Kanan, I need you over here." she said, letting the urgency of the situation tinge her voice.

"On my way",Kanan replied. Within minutes, he had crossed the factory floor and was arriving at her side.

"I'm here, what did you….", he trailed off after seeing what the center of her focus was. "He's-"

"Force sensitive, yes", Ahsoka said. "And he'll be dead unless we get him to the _Ghost_." Without hesitation, she cut off the metal that was protruding from the boy, but left the rest still in him.

"If I remove it now he'll bleed out." She said as she deactivated her lightsaber. "Can you carry him?"

"I must." Kanan replied simply. With a grunt, he hefted the boy onto his shoulder and started towards the exit. Ahsoka activated her comlink.

"We're leaving, now.", she said. "First one out needs to contact Hera and tell her to prep the medbay."

"I'm on it", came Sabine's reply. "Are you or Kanan hurt?"

"No, but tell her anyway.", Ahsoka replied.

"Okay, I guess, see you at extraction." The comlink clicked off and Ahsoka returned her attention to the boy. She wondered who he was, and what his future might bring.

**Aboard the **_**Ghost**_

**Hyperspace**

_Do you think he'll make it? I don't know, if we had a full bacta tank, he'd have a better chance. I wonder where he came from. His past doesn't matter right now. We need to focus on getting him healthy and then figuring out what the next steps will be. What will be next, will you train him? Like I said Hera, one step at a time. Ahsoka, I think its something you should start thinking about now, we should act like he is going to recover until he doesn't. You're right Hera, I'll think about it. _

Aeron awoke to the sound of a hatch sliding open. He kept his eyes closed, listening to his surroundings. He heard the constant beep of a pulse monitor, then the sound of the door closing and a pair of armoured boots walking. He felt his heart sink. He was in the prison infirmary. He opened his eyes. After nearly half a minute, his eyes finally focused….on the last thing he was expecting to see. He was in a cramped, yet well-organized room, whose only other occupant was a girl who looked about his age. Her short hair was brightly colored in blue and orange, and her colorful armour was of a style that he had never seen before. Her brown eyes were expressive and intelligent.

"Who are you?", he asked, his parched mouth and tongue making the words sound raspy. The girl jumped, startled.

"Karabast!", she said, holding her hand to her chest. "Don't do that, you almost gave me a heart attack." She straightened and walked over to a control panel on the wall.

"Spectre 5 to Fulcrum, our guest is awake.", the girl said into a microphone. Aeron tried to to sit up, only to find that he was strapped to the bed. The girl noticing his struggle, walked over and pushed his shoulders back down.

"Easy there, hotshot.", she said. "Those are there for a reason."

"And what would the reason be?", he swallowed, trying to get some saliva back to his dry throat.

"Well two reasons really", the girl replied. "For one, we took you from a prison, so until we know we can trust you, you'll be restrained. Also, you've got three broken ribs, if you tried to sit up right now you would probably pass out from the pain."

The door slid open and two beings walked in. One was a tall human man with a green tunic and armour the other was the Togruta he had seen at the prison.

"Spectre 5, would you give us the room?", the man asked.

"Sure", she replied. Without another word she left the room.

"Just want to give you advance warning", Aeron rasped as the door slid closed. "At least half of the questions you ask me, I won't be able to answer."

The Togruta raised an eyebrow as the man filled a cup with water from a sink. He approached Aeron and put the cup to his lips.

"Drink, please, you sound beyond thirsty.", he said with a small smile. Aeron drank reluctantly. Had the bed he was strapped to been flat, it would have been impossible, luckily it was in more of a reclining position. After he drained the cup, the man set it down and moved back to the Togruta's side.

"What's your name", the Togruta asked, speaking for the first time.

"Aeron", he replied, his voice less raspy now that he had drank.

"Just Aeron?", the man asked.

Aeron nodded.

"Tell me Aeron, where are you from?", the Togruta asked.

"As far as I can tell, the collapsed bunker on Kuat. I can't remember anything before that.", Aeron said.

The man and the Togruta exchanged glances, then turned back to Aeron.

"Why were you imprisoned?", asked the man.

"According to the Imperials, I'm a 'rebel sympathizer', whatever that means. My memory is shot so I can't confirm or deny that."

"Do you recall having any family, or friends?", asked the Togruta.

"No"

With that, the questions seemed to be over.

"We're going to discuss what's next with the rest of the crew", the Togruta said as she turned to leave. "We'll be back soon."

The Togruta then turned and left the room, the man following behind her. The door opened then closed, leaving Aeron alone in the room.

"I say we chuck him out the main hatch at the next planet.", said Zeb. "This whole 'lost memory' thing seems pretty suspicious."

"I don't know, Zeb", Hera said. "It could have been caused by head trauma when the bunker collapsed."

"And that's the other thing", the Lasat said. "Why would a kid like him be in that bunker?"

"The rebels on Kuat had their spouses and children stay there for safety.", Sabine said. "He's probably someone's kid."

"So he's an orphan, he's got nowhere else to go.", Ezra summarized.

"And he's Force sensitive", said Sabine. "We could always use another Jedi."

"I say we put it to a vote", Kanan said. "All in favor of letting Aeron stay."

All except Zeb were in favor.


End file.
